One of the reasons Alexa is so useful is that she is now being added to a host of everyday items. In 2018 we not only launched a new range of Echo smart speakers but also an Alexa enabled microwave, wall clock and doorbell, plus Echo Auto so people could use Alexa in their cars. Meanwhile 3rd party manufacturers like Ecobee and Philips created Alexa enabled thermostats and light bulbs.

We wanted to celebrate the fact that Alexa was appearing in all these devices, and the Super Bowl – a shared event in which the entire nation takes part – was the perfect moment to do this.

Our idea was ‘Not everything makes the cut’. The big game spot featured celebrity beta testers trying out Alexa inventions that hadn’t quite worked out. Forest Whitaker trialled an unintelligible Alexa toothbrush, Harrison Ford’s dog ordered endless treats from an Alexa dog collar, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson were forcibly expelled from an Alexa hot tub and NASA astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly accidentally turned off America’s power supply.

Giving America a chance to laugh at these failed Alexa inventions was a fun way to point out how useful the real ones actually were.

Creating a 90 second commercial was the perfect way to convey our ideas and showcase the ridiculousness of these failed Alexa inventions. Capturing the celebrity beta testers and their reactions to these failed products help remind us of the usefulness of the real products in comparison.

The 90 spot aired in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 53 on 3rd February 2019.

‘Not everything makes the cut’ was viewed 40 Million times on YouTube and generated almost 19,000 social mentions.

When the public voted on their favorite ads in the game, it came in at number 2 (second only to the NFL’s own spot) and it was deemed one of the funniest Super Bowl ads of all time by USA Today.